Hong Kong home to hundreds of elderly cage dwellers

We often hear about how “easy” living in Hong Kong is and how “expensive” it is. This is the first time we’ve heard of the scores of elderly, poor and neglected Hong Kongese (or is it Hong Kongers?) who live in cages:

Official government statistics show that there are 150,000 Hong Kong people living in cages, cubicles, rooftop huts, hallways benches, parks and streets. In bureaucratic lingo this is called “inadequate housing.”Government data for licensed cage homes (or “bedspaces”) put the number at 29 apartments providing 1,292 cages for 878 people.

CSR Asia, where we first learned of the story, has a couplephotos, including the one above. They touch on the irony of such living conditions existing in Hong Kong, “a 21st century altar to real estate and progress,” making us wonder if this is a sign of things to come for Shanghai.